Anyone using Back in Time? MS System Restore for Linux

[Ertain]

Sadly I haven't used back in time; only Kbackup.

[YouCanToo]

I can confirm that some need to do more homework and stop copying/quoting other incorrect sources

And that is exactly where the problem is.

Not every body has the time for doing 4 hours a day home work.       

How does the un-informed knows which information is correct or not ?


See ?

Reading would of given them the first clue  Quote "From 2000 to 2003" hello were are well into 2011.  One should know that it was a tad bit out of date. Really there is no excuse for ignorance in this day and age.

[YouCanToo]

Point taken. I'll check more sources before relying on something like wikipedia, but I did point out where I learned that notion a long time ago, and I see it's not been fixed in all that time.. perhaps someone savvy enough with wikipedia could give it an edit to make the matter more clear or at least less muddy.

Join wikipedia and you can change it yourself!  Just as easy as anyone else can do.

Yes, we have both a kde and gnome version of BackInTime in the repos. Hesitant to try it until I can find out if it will do what i want. A look at the site reveals that their "snapshots' are really large.

[taelti]

Point taken. I'll check more sources before relying on something like wikipedia, but I did point out where I learned that notion a long time ago, and I see it's not been fixed in all that time.. perhaps someone savvy enough with wikipedia could give it an edit to make the matter more clear or at least less muddy.

Join wikipedia and you can change it yourself!  Just as easy as anyone else can do.

Yes, we have both a kde and gnome version of BackInTime in the repos. Hesitant to try it until I can find out if it will do what i want. A look at the site reveals that their "snapshots' are really large.

Yes. You can too.

[MtnMan]

It would be nice to have the "system restore" feature like snapshot in virtualbox.  From the application description:

It acts as a 'user  mode'  backup  system.  This  means  that  you  can
backup/restore  only folders you have write access to (actually you can
backup read-only folders, but you can't restore them).

It sounds like much of the system would not get backed up.  For example, after updates, if you wanted to revert back to the state before the updates - it would not happen.  I haven't used it yet because it sounds like it would restore some parts of your system and not others.  It would be good to hear from someone that has used it.  It doesn't seem to be the same as MS system restore.

[newmikey]

I have read that Back in Time can easily backup and restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does.

Anyone use it?

I use remasterme. It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

[MtnMan]

I have read that Back in Time can easily backup and restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does.

Anyone use it?

I use remasterme. It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

Not wanting to be annoying but this sounds useful yet a search in synaptic for that comes up empty.  Forum search shows it is connected to mklivecd which is also not found in synaptic.  Is this a separate program or no longer available?

Edit: getting somewhere running the command as root with fatal error:  wanting drake-live install.  Think I can figure it out from here.

[newmikey]

I have read that Back in Time can easily backup and restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does.

Anyone use it?

I use remasterme. It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

Not wanting to be annoying but this sounds useful yet a search in synaptic for that comes up empty.  Forum search shows it is connected to mklivecd which is also not found in synaptic.  Is this a separate program or no longer available?

To be honest, my install has been stable for a couple of years so I haven't used it in anger. About half a year back I used it to transfer a whole system from one PC to another. I'll have a look see - it cannot have disappeared without me noticing, now could it?

[MtnMan]

newmikey> I was editing while you were posting.  Seems that a good how to on that would be very useful - if it still works.

[JakeLogan]

I ran into a situation where the MS restore type of functionality would have greatly helped me out in PCLOS. See this thread http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,94526.0.html

I hear a lot of linux folks tell other folks there is no need to have this type of program in linux but I disagree. There are tons of people looking for a MS type system restore in linux, just do a google search. Sometimes we don't want to or need to do a complete backup when a restore point would suffice, quick and easy. If your doing a lot of heavy stuff to your system you don't want to do a complete backup every 10 minutes every time you want to make ify changes to the system. In fact it's way easier for a new linux user to screw up a system making mistakes then it is for a windows user because everything is so compartmentalized and locked down. If anything, Linux needs this functionality way more than windows does. People counter with, " but a linux system is easier to fix because you can get into the critical bits" - no it isn't, not when a new user doesn't know what he could have done by accident to cause the problem or how to troubleshoot it.

I don't understand how MS system restore works or how linux works deep down but I'm surprised no one in all these years has made an app that has this or similar functionality. If it's possible, I'd love to see it in my lifetime.

newmikey, I too understand remasterme is connected to mklivecd (google) you say,

It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

This is mixing apples and oranges. Yes, its a great backup solution in that it makes a ghost like copy of your drive and lets you install the OS back to the state you were in when you made the clone copy, all your settings and apps already installed etc.. that's great for a complete backup solution but that's not what MS system restore is designed for. On windows we do have many such apps that does that like Norton Ghost, Acronis and my personal favorite cus its free and has better disk space compression, Macrium Reflect.

System Restore only makes a snapshot of your system state that resides on the same drive, you can use to restore to that state. These are around 1 gig and contain all the critical stuff for your entire system. It's good but only if those files in windows don't get hit with a virus. A much better system that I'd love to see Linux have is the functionality of RollbackRX. It takes snapshots you can restore to also but it protects it's snapshots in a layer of your hard drive underneath your primary partition and is accessible from it's own boot menu at startup. No virus can get to the data to corrupt it. In fact, I can wipe my entire windows partition or a virus can, and RollbackRx will restore the entire system settings, applications already installed just like a ghost copy, in less than 5 to 10 minutes. Even from a snapshot of a large 500 gig drive that's full. It's simply amazing to watch it in action do that. Linux should have that but the company has no plans to port to Linux. Comodo Time Machine does the same thing for free but its way buggy.

I mention these things not because i'm a windows fanboy or saying there's anything wrong with Linux just think tools like these may help some folks and FYI.

[YouCanToo]

I have read that Back in Time can easily backup and restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does.

Anyone use it?

I use remasterme. It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

Not wanting to be annoying but this sounds useful yet a search in synaptic for that comes up empty.  Forum search shows it is connected to mklivecd which is also not found in synaptic.  Is this a separate program or no longer available?

To be honest, my install has been stable for a couple of years so I haven't used it in anger. About half a year back I used it to transfer a whole system from one PC to another. I'll have a look see - it cannot have disappeared without me noticing, now could it?

Try looking for mylivecd.  The name was changed and is no longer mklivecd.

[MtnMan]

I have read that Back in Time can easily backup and restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does.

Anyone use it?

I use remasterme. It does not "restore the Linux system state much like Microsoft System Restore does", it does it much like MS should do it! Oh yes, and "easily" too!

Not wanting to be annoying but this sounds useful yet a search in synaptic for that comes up empty.  Forum search shows it is connected to mklivecd which is also not found in synaptic.  Is this a separate program or no longer available?

To be honest, my install has been stable for a couple of years so I haven't used it in anger. About half a year back I used it to transfer a whole system from one PC to another. I'll have a look see - it cannot have disappeared without me noticing, now could it?

Try looking for mylivecd.  The name was changed and is no longer mklivecd.

Thanks - mylivecd was already installed.  Had to also install draklive-installer.  Then remasterme ran (about 13mins for compressing and creating ISO) I have to find where it is now and then - I assume burn to cd or flash-drive.  I'm guessing it has to be installed the same as any ISO and wipe out current install  - or am I missing something.  Sorry for basic questions but that is what this is starting to look like.

[Rudge]

A lack of understanding does not justify the need for an entire application. 

[pags]

Please don't take this the wrong way.  I do not intend to be negatively critical (but even before I've typed it, I can image it being construed as such, hence my disclaimer  ).

First (and there's nothing wrong with running Windows, nor running it in conjunction with Linux or any other OS, be that multiple machines, dual-boot or virtualization), shake any Windows pre-conceptions when discussing Linux (whether that be what is, or what you hope will be).  Comparing ideas is fine (from a "flow chart" point of view), but trying to do direct comparisons will fail, and probably aggravate some people as they struggle to (possibly perceptually) convey their own viewpoint during the discussion.

Second, Windows "Restore Points" have their own issues.  I would be more apt to consider Apple's "Time Machine" as more worthy of emulation.  Having said that, the tools already exist to do this...it's more a matter of putting them together (which is been done already, also).  One tool of interest is rsync, which can make copies of changed data based on differentials, considerably saving space (and bandwidth, which was it's original intent).  Do a search in Synaptic for it, and check out the backup software already available for PCLOS using it.  boxbackup, luckybackup, grsync, duplicity to name a few off the top...

Third, even on a single-user, desktop system, you should consider breaking your backup priortities into at least two sections.  System (OS and all related files required to get a running system) and Data (created by the end-user, generally not available for re-installation anywhere, and possibly non-recreate-able (such as photos, etc)
For the System portion, you really can't beat mylivecd.  This originated as a unique PCLOS development (if I am not mistaken), and is the best implementation of any bare-metal disater recovery option I have ever seen, bar none.  It gets all your apps (and, optionally, user settings withing certain size constraints) back to a "point in time".  Additionally, it gracefully handles hardware that may radically differ from the original system, not to mention that the lic. allows multiple installs on additional hardware.  Truly spectacular!
For user data, a backup solution that saves specific files is better (then individual items can be restored without impacting the OS).  Additionally, such a tool does not require access to the OS files, only user's.  Each user (on a multi-user system) can have their own backup schedule that reflects their individual needs.  Tools like "Time Machine" (such as Back In Time, and others) give the ability to "go back" to previous versions with minimal space considerations (only the space to store the changes is required...this could be large or small, depending on the changes made).

There are many (many!) native tools available to accomplish such tasks.  Some are easy, and some are hard.  Some are comprehensive and some are limiting.  Ask for opinions, if you're not sure what to use...or try a few out and see what you like.  Everyone's different.  Myself, I'm happy with tar.  That's probably too low-level for many, but that doesn't invalidate it as a choice.

$0.02